What a Beautiful Name

You didn’t want heaven without us
So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now?

Death could not hold You, the veil tore before You
You silenced the boast, of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring, the praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again!

Hillsong Worship

This song by Hillsong may not be a traditional Easter song but it captures the essence of Jesus and what we know to be true of the One who gave it all for us.

It’s an amazing reminder of who we are celebrating this Easter: The One who always was and always will be. The One who spoke the universe into existence. The One whose power defies comprehension.

I’m a surgeon who has been given great privilege to care for others with advantages of modern medicine. Yet with all we know, I cannot add a single hour to my life, nor can I speak a single piece of chocolate into existence no matter how much I crave it! Yet God spoke all of creation into existence.

I forget sometimes to revere the name of Jesus. I see Him as the baby Jesus, the carpenter, a great teacher, or a moral compass… but this is the name of the only most high God. He lived in perfection. He chose to step into a fallen world out of love for us. We see a small glimpse of this sacrifice in missionaries today who give up worldly comforts in order to minister to others. Even the sacrifices of someone as incredible as Mother Theresa, however, pale in comparison to Jesus. He didn’t just give up worldly comforts. He gave up Heaven’s comforts.

He already lived in perfect happiness and love, but He did not want heaven without us. Our sin had separated us from God but instead of writing us off, He made the ultimate rescue plan. Jesus brought heaven to us. He came into humanity and lived the perfect life that we never could. He traded places with us. He took the sin of all on Himself on the cross. There was nothing we could do to regain our place with God, so Jesus brought His Kingdom here to us. His demonstration of love so fierce and complete, we could never be separated from Him.

Easter isn’t just about us being saved by grace and going to heaven someday. Jesus wants us to live in partnership with Him now. We are His kingdom on earth in the here and now. God doesn’t need us. He wants us. He desires to live in constant communion with us and for us to live out His plan for our lives in preparation for eternity.

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Luke 17:20-21

We have a Saviour who is powerful enough to speak the world into existence. Who loves us enough to leave perfection and die for us. Who wants relationship with us so much that He doesn’t want heaven without us, and who is mighty enough to defeat death forever. His name is Jesus.

This is the beautiful name I pray we all take time to reflect on and celebrate this Easter.